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THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

[by tklegraph.]

(from OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) Wellington, Oct. 16.

Sir George Grey’s speech last night was one of the wildest and most egotistical and boastful ever heard in the House, and was well and very severely answered by Mr Rolleston. Another such speech would bring his majority to a minority, as Mr Rolleston’s exposures of the Old Knight’s misrepresentations were loudly cheered by many of those yet voting with his party. Sir George seems to be utterly unable to keep out of sight for a day, however much the intentions of his party may require him to be quiet. He declared that no business should be done in the House so long as the present Government held their seats. Even the Local Option Bill was not allowed to go on last night. The Native Statement has been deferred until Friday evening, so that on Tuesday the vote of No-Confidence will be allowed to come on. There is no doubt that Mr Macandrew will try to include Mr Sheehan in his Ministry—but Mr Macandrew, Mr Sheehan, Mr Pyke, Mr Shephard—to say nothing of Mr M'Lean's recently dubbed “ Judas Iscariot”—will be rather too many of one sort, even for the Greyites, and they will probably be obliged to include one or two men of respectable character besides Mi Montgomery. Friday.

The same course was continued by the Opposition yesterday that they followed the night before, and was carried so far as to practically refuse all supplies, so that the salaries cannot be paid and the Road Boards and County Councils cannot receive their subsidies.

Mr Bryce’s statement to-night is sure to be very guarded, but it cannot fail to be very damaging. The £12,000 which has been spent amongst the natives by Mr Sheehan without authority, and without record, will never all be accounted for, but enough has already transpired to rouse the indignation of any Parliament that had not grown used to such utter contempt for its control. Some of the more conscientious of the Grey supporters were evidently much shaken in their faith yesterday, and the facts that will be brought out in the noconfidence debate next week must put the men who are so frantically hurrying to regain their ill-used power in a position that they ought to feel very humiliating. It is now stated that Col. Whitmore, whose character for veracity in the Legislative Council is on a par with that of Sir George Grey or Mr Sheehan in the House of. Representatives, is to be the new Premier. He is admitted by the whips of his own party to be one of the most ultraTories in the colony. It was proved by the Government yesterday afternoon that a man named Joshua Jones, of New Plymouth, an election agent, and the man who supplied Mr Barton with his frantic charges against the judges and magistrates at Taranaki, was paid £2O for his attendance at a native meeting, £2OO for some select service during the late election, and other sums for similar services amounting to £3OO. Besides which he had authority to telegraph to any station free of charge, and was assisted to a lease of a block of 30,000 acres of native land which is now being surveyed for him at the public expense. This was dragged to light from a question by Col. Trimble, and is only a sample of what the Grey and Sheehan Government have been doing all over the colony to reward their men of dirty work.

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